What Must I Do to Be Saved?

QUESTIONS

What must I do to be saved?

A Friend

from Algeria

How can sin be overcome?

Mr. G.K.Y.

Beni Swaif,

Egypt

WHAT

MUST I DO

TO BE

SAVED?

ISKANDAR JADEED

(Translated from Arabic)

THE GOOD WAY RIKON/SWITZERLAND

CONTENTS
1 Salvation / 3
2 The Way of Salvation / 9
3 Victory over Sin / 13
4 Forgiveness / 21
5 Why Salvation? / 28
6 The Crown of Life / 33
7 How Can I Be Saved? / 37
8 Test Questions / 44

SALVATION

Salvation is indeed a very important subject. I am
not exaggerating when I tell you that salvation is the
most important subject for man to consider. It has
occupied the mind of God from the very beginning. In
order to bring it into reality, God appeared in the flesh.
Therefore, since salvation is so crucial, we must find
out about its nature, meaning and significance. That is,
we must discover what salvation is and from what it is
that we need to be saved.

We understand from the Bible and from the nature
of the mission of Christ, that salvation involves being
set free from slavery to sin and, consequently,
deliverance from it. The Gospel declares that the Son
of man came to seek and to save those who are lost.
This means that the objective of Christ's coming into
the world is to save those who are perishing in

transgressions and sins. To achieve this objective, he
prepared everything for salvation even to the extent of
laying down his life for the sinner, impelled by the
abundance of his love and mercy.

On his deathbed the Duke of Kent, father of Queen
Victoria of England, was visited by his doctor who
tried to console the Duke by saying, "Be consoled, my
Lord, by the high office which Providence bestowed
upon Your Highness." The Duke replied, "This may be
true, but my salvation does not depend upon my pro-
minent office, but on my confession that I am a sinner
and that Christ came to save me." He was echoing the
words of the apostle Paul, "Here is a trustworthy
saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came
into the world to save sinners-of whom I am the worst"
(1 Timothy 1:15).

What must I do to be saved?

This question was asked by the Philippian jailer of
the apostle Paul and his companion Silas nearly two
thousand years ago. The answer was "Believe in the
Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved — you and
your household" (Acts 16:31). It is simple and plain
that man is not asked to do anything to save himself.
He must only believe in the Lord Jesus Christ because
there is no other way of salvation. The angel of God
said of the blessed Virgin Mary, "She will give birth to a
son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because
he will save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21).
When John the Baptist saw Christ, he said, "Look the
Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"
(John 1:29)

Full faith in salvation, however, must be
accompanied, first, by confession of sin in accordance
with the apostolic saying: "If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify
us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). Secondly, it
must be accompanied by repentance. "In the past God
overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all
people everywhere to repent" (Acts 17:30). "Repent
then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped
out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord"
(Acts 3:19).

Assuredly therefore, faith, accompanied by
confession of sin and repentance, in general bestows on
men:

1. Salvation from the debt of sin

In many of his parables Christ explained sin as a
debt. About the wicked servant he said, "Therefore,
the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to
settle accounts with his servants. As he began the
settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents
was brought to him" (Matthew 18:23,24). In another
parable he said, "Two men owed money to a certain
money-lender. One owed him five hundred denarii,
and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to
pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now
which of them will love him more?" (Luke 7:41-42).

Sin is indeed a great debt which sinners owe God.
Whether the debt is great or small, it is more than they
can afford to pay. Therefore, it is subject to the
judgment which says, "For the wages of sin is death"
(Romans 6:23). But God, in his great love, which is full

of kindness and mercy, is ready to forgive and pardon
under conditions laid down in the Gospel, whatever
and however great the sins may be. It is written, "But
where sin increased, grace increased all the more"
(Romans 5:20). This makes the consolations of the
Gospel all the sweeter when compared to the over-
whelming and terrifying power of the Law. Having
bought forgiveness for repentant sinners through the
blood of his Cross, Christ's Gospel gives mankind the
promise of this forgiveness, and his Holy Spirit seals it
and supplies a solace. Those whose sins are forgiven
are bound to love him who forgave them. The deeper a
sinner has sunk into sin before regeneration, the holier
must he become and the more ready to obey.

2. Salvation from the power of sin

Having been relieved of sin's heavy debt, man now
needs to be freed from the power of sin and to abandon
evil habits. He must cease to live by his own corrupted
desires in his relations with a world which has been cast
into the hold of the Evil One. To do so, man must
persevere and fight against sin to work out his sal-
vation as the apostle Paul said in his epistle to the
Philippians: "Therefore, my dear friends, as you have
always obeyed — not only in my presence, but now
much more in my absence — continue to work out
your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God
who works in you to will and to act according to his
good purpose" (Philippians 2:12,13). Paul also teaches
us that a person who is saved by the grace of Christ
must practice holiness day by day and free himself
from the influences of sin until he attains everlasting

glory. This is evident from Paul's epistle to the Ro-
mans: "And do this, understanding the present time.
The hour has come for you to wake up from your
slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than
when we first believed" (Romans 13:11).

In brief, salvation involves the liberation of man
from the debt of sin and its enslaving power in spirit,
soul and body until he stands before God holy and
unblemished in love.

Some may ask, "Why does God take so much inter-
est in a rebellious sinner who sinned with freedom of
choice? And why does God not let him bear the conse-
quences of his deeds and get what he justly deserves?"
There is one answer to this which is contained in the
passage about the Lord Jesus Christ: "For God so
loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that
whoever believes in him shall not perish but have
eternal life" (John 3:16). The story is told of the famous
lawyer, Sir John Prentice, who concluded his defending
arguments of his case with the following statement in
defense of the accused, "I have read in a book that
God, in his everlasting counsel, asked Justice, Truth
and Mercy if he should create man. Justice replied,
"Do not make man because he would tread on all your
laws, disciplines and principles." Truth replied, "Do
not make him because he would be ugly and would
always pursue lies and falsehood." Mercy said, "I
know man would be so wretched. But I would take
charge of him and walk with him through the dark
alleys until I bring him to you in the end."

God made man in the best form, but man fell
following his own inclinations, and eagerly immersed

himself into the world of corruption. But God's mercy
and love followed him and planned his full, complete
and everlasting salvation. Put your trust in the love of
God in Christ Jesus who said, "Turn to me and be
saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and
there is no other" (Isaiah 45:22). "Come now, let us
reason together," says the Lord. "Though your sins are
like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they
are red as crimson, they shall be like wool" (Isaiah 1:18).
Do not hesitate. Open the door of your heart for
Christ. He expects you to do so when he says, "Here I
am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my
voice and opens the door, I will go in and eat with him,
and he with me" (Revelation 3:20).

CRBATBmMB

and renew
a steadfast spirit within me

Psalm 51:10

THE WAY

SALVATION

The salvation of man cannot be accomplished
outside of God's plan. One God is able to bring
together justice, mercy, holiness and love. God fulfilled
this by the wonderful atonement made in the fulness of
time on Golgotha. This happened as the Psalmist had
prophesied, "Love and faithfulness meet together;
righteousness and peace kiss each other" (Psalm
85:10).

The marvelous and awesome scene for the atone-
ment was set. God is on one side, for whose holiness,
magnanimity and kindness there is no limit. While on
the other side, sinful man is stained with his own wrong
doings. In the middle stands a cross on which Jesus was
lifted up as the Redeemer to express the love of God
—"That God was reconciling the world to himself in
Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he

has committed to us the message of reconciliation"
(2 Corinthians 5:19).

Circumstantial evidence confirms that God's
salvation which he had prepared for mankind was not
an emergency operation. It was a preordained and
carefully worked out plan, perfected in accordance
with the perfect wisdom and counsel of God. "He
predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus
Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will — to
the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely
given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemp-
tion through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accor-
dance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished
on us with all wisdom and understanding" (Ephesians
1:5-8).

Indeed, the salvation of mankind is founded on this
atonement which Christ perfected. For this to be
brought about, it was imperative that the Logos
(Word) Who in the beginning was with God, became
incarnate and partook with mankind in flesh and
blood in order to present himself at the altar of the
cross to atone for the sins of mankind. It is written:
"Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared
in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy
him who holds the power of death — that is, the devil
— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery
by their fear of death" (Hebrews 2:14, 15).

Appropriate Verses on Salvation

"Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved
—you and your household" (Acts 16:31).

"Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins

may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come
from the Lord" (Acts 3:19).

"Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the
name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven.
And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts
2:38).

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will
forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteous-
ness" (I John 1:9).

"That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is
Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him
from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9).

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through
faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of
God — not by works, so that no-one can boast"
(Ephesians 2:8,9).

"Now this is eternal life: that they may know you,
the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have
sent" (John 17:3).

"But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far
away have been brought near through the blood of
Christ" (Ephesians 2:13).

"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we
have fellowship with one another, and the blood of
Jesus, his Son, purifies us from every sin" (I John
1:7).

"For God was pleased to have all his fulness dwell in
him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things,
whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making
peace through his blood, shed on the cross"
(Colossians 1:19,20).

"For you know that it was not with perishable things

such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the
empty way of life handed down to you from your
forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a
lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before
the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last
times for your sake" (I Peter 1:18-20).

"In him we have redemption through his blood, the
forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of
God's grace" (Ephesians 1:7).